The Border and the Buffalo

Hunting the buffalo and fighting Indians on the western frontier

For millennia the great herds of North American bison (or buffalo as they were popularly known) had roamed the continental heartland followed by the indigenous Indian tribes whose own existence in every sense depended upon them. After the American Civil War, as the new railroads pushed from ocean to ocean, the herds of buffalo came in closer proximity to the ever increasing numbers of settlers intent on fulfilling the 'manifest destiny' of the American people by crossing and populating the nation. Now the political and economic potential of intensively hunting the buffalo became apparent. So the buffalo hunter, a resourceful opportunist armed with a long rifle, appeared across the western wilderness. This book, a highly regarded classic on its subject, was written by a frontiersman buffalo hunter and graphically describes his life of the Great Plains. These hunters heralded not only the end of the great herds of buffalo, but also the demise of the traditional way of life for the Plains Indian tribes. So, inevitably, this book also relates the authors experiences as an Indian fighter particularly against the Comanches. Despite our contemporary understanding of these tragic events, John Cook's narrative provides an entertaining and thrilling insight into a life lived in the Wild West in its heyday.

Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.